Great Movie, New DVD Release

Rating: 9/10 (11 November 2006)

I saw this movie when it first came out (yes, I am THAT old!), bought it for $75 when it first came out on video tape and just purchased a DVD set at Wal-Mart marked as a "Cinema Classics Collection".
The movie itself is outstanding in most aspects. For younger people, please understand that when this movie was made, many of the participants in the actual event were still alive. Many contributed in some way to the movie and others would have commented strongly if they saw something wrong. That had to put tremendous pressure on the producers. The only complaint I ever had with it was technical in nature. Much of the equipment worn by the American soldiers is incorrect. It is not that it isn't WWII equipment (it is) but that it wasn't appropriate to what the soldier was doing or carrying as a weapon. I have also read that the action on the beach is spectacular but not quite correct as most of the movement off Omaha Beach early in the day was in small groups like depicted in "Saving Private Ryan". I forgive the movie both glitches as it was more important to put Ryan's book on the screen rather than sweat the small stuff.
One bit of trivia I learned years later by reading one of Ambrose's books had to do with Richard Todd who played Major Howard taking "Pegasus Bridge". If Todd looks believable in the role, it turns out that there is a very good reason for that. It seems Todd was a young officer in one of the British Parachute Battalions that dropped into Normandie in support of Howard's capture of the bridge.
Regarding the DVD release I just bought, I have to comment on the 'historical commentary' section. This is a feature that you can turn on and a "historian" comments as you watch the movie. I was highly disappointed in the comments. Instead of real history, all it contains is a lot of movie commentary and social statements. If you choose to listen to the "Audio Commentary by Historian X X" on this set, please read Ryan's book afterward or one of Ambrose's books to correct what you have listened to on the DVD. I normally wouldn't include such a negative section but it really angered me what they termed 'historical commentary'. If it had been labeled anything but 'historical' I would not have minded. That is why I am sometimes called "History Nut".